Nanocopoeia, Inc. Awarded Federal Research Funding to Accelerate Development of Innovative Stent Coating Process
Two Phase I Small Business Innovation Research Awards Will

Boost Company's Commercialization Program

ST. PAUL, Minn., Jan. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Nanocopoeia, Inc. has been awarded
Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants totaling $361,000 from the
National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
to prove the feasibility of its next-generation technology for coating medical
stents. Upon completion of this Phase I research early in 2006, the company
becomes eligible to apply for Phase II follow-on funding totaling more than $2
million. The grant from NSF, awarded under its Manufacturing Innovation
Initiative, funds development and scale-up of Nanocopoeia's
ElectroNanospray(TM) process for applying nanoparticle-based drug-eluting
coatings to coronary stents. The grant from NIH, awarded under its
Bioengineering Nanotechnology program, funds evaluation of coating performance
in terms of controlled drug release and coating integrity.
The SBIR program was established to fund the initial development stages of
groundbreaking technologies like the ElectroNanospray(TM) process, which moves
substantially beyond the limitations of current, one-dimensional medical stent
coating technology and enables the next generation of proprietary, multi-
functional stent coatings based on sophisticated, engineered depositions and
coating designs. Under the SBIR Phase II program, which is designed to
prepare for commercialization with private-sector partners, Nanocopoeia will
focus on process development and material and process validation. Nanocopoeia
is initiating discussions with potential partners to identify the best
candidate for collaboration on Phase II work and for commercialization.
The market for drug-eluting stents is one of the fastest growing segments
in the medical device industry. Significant improvement in clinical outcomes
associated with the use of these products is driving the growth. First-
generation products combining therapeutic drugs with the implantable stents
reached the market in 2004 and have generated in excess of $5 billion in
global sales to date. According to Nanocopoeia's CEO, Robert A. Hoerr, MD,
PhD, "Nanocopoeia expects that its second-generation, engineered nanocomposite
coating, which could allow for staged and targeted delivery of therapeutics
from the stent surface, will significantly improve upon the potential for
positive clinical outcomes and will further boost market potential.
"We are delighted to be a multiple-SBIR winner," Hoerr continues. "We
understand that this is a highly competitive review process carried out by
expert scientific panels, and that our selection for multiple awards clearly
validates the promise of our novel approach to coating medical stents."
Nanocopoeia ( http://www.nanocopoeia.com ) is commercializing its
proprietary process for delivering advanced coatings to the converging
industries of devices, drugs, and delivery. The company's
ElectroNanospray(TM) technology is used to apply polymers and drugs to medical
devices as well as to formulate drugs for enhanced therapeutic delivery. The
Company's business model is to provide value-added development and formulation
services to corporate partners.
For more details, contact Karen M. Arnold at info@nanocopoeia.com or (651)
209-1184.